Sunday, 29 July 2012

By the age of 21, down-to-earth Detroit handyman Derrick Chance had lost everyone he’d ever loved. Too worn-out and wounded to play the dating game, he wrote off the possibility of romance or even just sex. Living alone in the old house his grandparents had left him, with only his dog and a few close friends for companionship, he refused to consider himself lonely, or let himself wonder what he might be missing. He knew who he was and where he was headed. His life was comfortable, organized, predictable, and best of all, risk-free. He was content.

Until the day he installed some shelves for accountant Gavin Hayes. A contradictory combination of confidence and uncertainty, Gavin’s shameless flirtations drew him in with an intensity Derrick had never known he longed for.

As undeniable as the force of gravity, he abandoned ten years of self-imposed solitude and found himself falling rapidly for Gavin in defiance of all his usual slow and methodical ways.

But Gavin carried wounds of his own. Fresh from an emotionally abusive relationship that ended with a potentially dangerous betrayal, his future was far from certain. Derrick would have to decide if his rediscovered passion was worth taking the chance of another loss.

My Review (Terri @mybookboyfriend)

I’ve read so much “insta love” lately that this book was a welcome change. Thank goodness.

This love story is slow brewed but not in a frustrating way. And I don’t mean that they didn’t get down and dirty. I mean that even though in the heat of the moment you may feel like it’s love. Love doesn’t happen that quickly. In order to claim true love it has to weather a storm or stand the test of time. That doesn’t mean you can’t have strong feelings for someone or be “falling in love”. But there is no way in a week or two you can claim love. Unless of course, you too have been to hell and back literally. Okay, that’s my opinion. Let me get back on topic.

And again, a sigh of relief, that the conflict wasn’t based on misunderstanding. This is a personally preference for me. I just hate misunderstanding as the total and only reason a couple cannot be together. At least that is when the reader (me) is in on the misunderstanding and the characters aren’t.

So it’s no wonder I found myself enthralled with this one. This story takes it’s time in the telling giving us a chance to know the main character. There is also a touchy topic discussed and I think the author did a wonderful job in handling it with care and dignity. Great job.

My only complaint would be, I wish that we had a better understanding of how LeeAnn found him out. What did he do that gave her a clue? Which would also give us a clue when he understood his status. If you haven’t read, don’t make assumptions based on what I said. Those too lines are in no way spoilers.

Friday, 27 July 2012

Boxer Falls is a weekly homoerotic soap opera being posted at the M/M Romance Group at Goodreads. Penned by a group of fan favorites and new voices, a roster of unparalleled talent brings this "gaytime drama" to life with high camp, low blows, and intense sexiness. Our writers produce episodes as interconnected short stories about the ongoing adventures of the residents of a tightknit Berkshires resort town with a queer reputation as it gains a reputation as a homo hot spot for the discerning traveler. You should expect sex, scandal, secrets, and happy endings that come at a high price.Every week a new guest star will take up the pen. Join Ellis Carrington, Poppy Dennison, and Damon Suede along with a host of your favorite gay romance scribes as they cut loose with suds and studs in abundance. And since Brita Addams has joined the team, Boxer Falls has been churning like never before.

What goes up always comes down.

Peek behind the fly of Boxer Falls, and see what mischief lurks in its quiet streets and secluded spots of a small New England town with a queer reputation. Around here, the family closets hold more than skeletons and the fights are strictly gloves-off. With folks this gorgeous, the feuds are bound to get ugly.

When the wealthy Cotten family decides to turn their country estate into a luxurious resort, the residents of Boxer Falls face an influx of affluent tourists who rub their sleepy little town in the worst ways. Lust, greed, betrayal, and ambition might just yank the town to its knees.

Tune in each week to get the latest on scorching affairs, family dysfunction, and secret desire.

Excerpt:

Grady ran his fingers through his shower-damp hair as he headed for the kitchen. He’d left Phil snoring in the bed, still passed out from their wild bout of sex the night before. With a grin, Grady tightened his robe and gave himself a pat on the back for a job well done.

Zach stood in the kitchen, hips swinging to music blaring from the headset of his iPod. A loaf of bread and jars of peanut butter and jelly were spread out on the counter in front of him.

Grady gave his son’s back a quick rub as he went by and headed straight for the coffee pot.

Zach jumped a bit and spun around. “Morning,” he said as he pulled the ear buds from his ears.

“Hey. What are you up to?”

Zach’s cheeks turned a bit pink as he turned back to the sandwich fixings. “Taking Adam on a picnic. We both have the day off.”

Young love. Grady remembered those days well. Phil used to do romantic things like that for him, and now that they’d pieced their nearly broken relationship back together, that side of his husband was slowly emerging again.

Grady selected his coffee and popped the choice in the machine. While he waited for it to brew, he went to the pantry and stretched to the highest shelf. He’d stuck the small cooler Phil had used for years as a lunch box up there a while back.

“Will this help?”

Zach grinned at the beat up red and white container. “You kept that old thing?”

Grady shrugged and sat it in the sink. “It wasn’t broken or anything.”

“Uh huh. Sure. Kind of like how I still have my G.I. Joe one up in the attic, huh?”

After meeting Damon Suede and Ellis Carrington at the 2011 GayRomLit Retreat in New Orleans, Damon approached me about an idea he’d come up with for an online serial fiction. We wanted a dynamic world, populated by characters authors and readers alike would want to know more about.

Boxer Falls, A Gaytime Drama developed out of that initial idea. The soap format provided us lots of juicy friction with a no holds barred approach to the storylines. Our writers could have fun and play in our sandbox, leaving fun messes for the next author to clean up.

We premiered in January 2012 on the M/M Romance Group at Goodreads. This week, we’re posting our thirtieth episode and have had many of the bestselling authors in the M/M genre pen episodes for us!

2. How would you describe Boxer Falls?

Boxer Falls is a web serial, updated weekly. It’s fun and campy, just like the daytime soap operas that inspired us. I think our blurb says it best:

What goes up always comes down.

Peek behind the fly of Boxer Falls, and see what mischief lurks in the quiet streets and secluded spots of a small New England town with a queer reputation. Around here, the family closets hold more than skeletons and the fights are strictly gloves-off. With folks this gorgeous, the feuds are bound to get ugly.

When the wealthy Cotten family decides to turn their country estate into a luxurious resort, the residents of Boxer Falls face an influx of affluent tourists who rub their sleepy little town in the worst ways. Lust, greed, betrayal, and ambition might just yank the town to its knees.

Tune in each week to get the latest on scorching affairs, family dysfunction, and secret desire.
Boxer Falls: The bigger they are…

3. Which character have you had most fun writing?

Oh, that’s a hard question! Boxer Falls has a cast of twelve core characters. I think the most fun for me is taking any one of those characters and pushing him into an unexpected direction.

One of our older characters is Grady Boxer. Grady’s in quite the fix. His husband Phil is a philanderer and his ex-love Conrad Cotten has returned to town ready to pick up where they left off. The Grady/Phil/Conrad love triangle is fun for me to write because they’re older, more mature characters who have a lot of life experience under their belt—yet they’re still affected by love as much as their younger counter parts.

Grady has a tough decision to make. Does he stick with his husband of twenty odd years, for better or for worse, or does he give in to the allure of his first love, the one that got away?

4. How did you come up with the title of your book?

Boxer Falls developed from a brainstorming session between Damon, Ellis, and myself. We wanted a title that gave an idea of the setting—waterfalls was an element of the northeast we liked. Romantic, with a hint of danger. Then we wanted a hint of the soapiness the show would inspire. We came up with a list of sexy words that would suit a town, and Boxer won our votes by a landslide. It captures the sexy elements of conservative underwear, while also showing the ongoing dramatic side of the town. Who better than a professional fist fighter to give a hint of the give and take between the characters?

5. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

Our readers contact us through the discussion thread over at the M/M Romance Group on Goodreads as well as through our website (http://www.boxerfalls.com/). There’s always a debate each week as our episodes are posted with readers wondering what will happen next!

Pixie-It’s a soap opera. There are no endings, only new beginnings!!
G-I hope that it will still go on and on and on…
Eden-Now that was satisfying!

6. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in writing this serial?

Boxer Falls is a surprise every week. The fun of being a serial project, with a different author every week, is that you never know where the story is going to go. Each author brings their unique voice, and passion for their favorite characters. One week, our dynamic duo of Oz, the sexy silver fox, and his bartender lover Quinn will be at the forefront. The next week, star-crossed lovers Zach and Adam may come together. And there’s always our sheriff, the sexy sub Vic who is looking for a man who can meet his every need!

Any last thoughts or words of wisdom you would like to share with the readers?

One of our favorite aspects of Boxer Falls is our plans for the future. Season one will be anthologized into a paperback at the end of the year. All proceeds from the sale of volume one will go to support GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation http://www.glaad.org/) We’re excited to support this wonderful cause and to give our writers a chance to give back to the community that does so much for us.

A sassy southern lady, Poppy Dennison developed an obsession with things that go bump in the night in her early years after a barn door flew off its hinges and nearly squashed her. Convinced it was a ghost trying to get her attention, she started looking for other strange and mysterious happenings around her. Not satisfied with what she found, Poppy has traveled to Greece, Malaysia and England to find inspiration for the burly bears and silver foxes that melt her butter. Her love of paranormal continues to flourish nearly thirty years later, and she writes steamy love stories about the very things that used to keep her up all night. If her childhood ghost is lucky, maybe one day she’ll give him his own happily ever after.

Thursday, 12 July 2012

Collin Reese, valet to the Earl of Balor, harbors a deep secret. He is deeply in love with his employer and has been since one fateful night three years ago. After a chance encounter, his deepest desires are realized in a brothel which caters to men of very particular tastes. Collin knows he can never allow the earl to realize who his masked lover is, but neither can he deny his longing for more than one night.

Drake, the Earl of Balor, has a job to do for his queen and his country, one that puts him at direct odds with the yearning of his heart. His nights in the brothel keep him going. Never in his wildest imagination does he believe his deepest desire is as close as the next room. But just as his lover’s identity is revealed, his world threatens to fall apart as his queen and enemies close in.

My Review - Terri @mybookboyfriend

I’m growing to be a huge historical fiction m/m romance lover. The aspects of forbidden love just add that level of danger that rackets up the heat. And this story was no different.

The characters are interesting especially our lovely Collin. Poor guy’s life has been pretty rough. And just when he’s making a decent time of it, his cousin put him in a position that could be the undoing of them all.

The plotline is more than just romance. There is an added layer of mystery and intrigue of events to come.

This is a short satisfying read. Of course I wanted more. I mean really it will be cruel if there isn’t more to come.